In the second part of the unfolding saga that could also be enjoyed independently, you can explore new corners of this unique world and experience the mix of old-school gothic and mad science, with more action, powerful foes and plenty of stunning places to visit.

July 2

Updates to The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client (in on-line mode) is restarted.

New Feature: Mantis Bug Tracker

We are implementing a new feature: the Mantis Bug Tracker! The bug tracker allows people to submit issues via a web browser after registration. The progress of fixing can be followed as well, so now you can see who fixes your problems and when! It can be accessed via the ESC menu in-game. Note that you have to have the Steam Overlay enabled as the bugtracker opens in the overlay.
Please provide as much data as you can when submitting bugs, and do not send in duplicate issues, or issues belonging to other games - select the right game before you submit something. Thanks!

General Fixes

Controller users can now use the split window better, the right stick steps one if moved horizontally, and steps 10 if moved vertically.

Controller users can now buy potions more easily, the counter starts at one when buying.

The LT sign will now appear above player heads when facing an elevator.

The Resistance spy can no longer die.

Fixed numerous DX11 issues.

Controller users will now be able to select their characters more easily.

Fixed missing textures on the controller UI.

There will be no more "stuck" button labels on the Resistance Management's controller UI.

About This Game

It all seemed so simple: defeat the mad scientist, free the land and ride into the sunset, but sometimes the fall of a villain only opens the way to more sinister foes. So the incredible adventures continue, and Van Helsing, the famous monster-hunter returns to save the day again with the help of his charming, ghostly companion, Lady Katarina. The gothic metropolis of weird science is on the brink of destruction as chaos rules the streets and a new enemy plots revenge. It’s time to enter the dark side of Borgova and the forbidden wilderness, but beware: you are not the only one behind a mask.

Main features

Three playable classes – In the sequel to this gothic-noir adventure, you can choose from three very different classes: the classic Hunter with shooting and melee skills, the magic-wielding Thaumaturge or the Arcane Mechanic, the master of deadly devices, all included in the base game.

Hunter’s Lair – The Lair returns in the sequel as your perfect hideout to stash collected loot, trade with non-playable characters, teleport between locations, forge new items, utilize the alchemy lab and accept new quests from allies who join the Resistance against the scientific scourge.

Extended Tower defense mini-game – With enemies invading in waves, you have the opportunity to defend your Lair and other strategic locations with deployable traps and several upgradable functions to ward off evil, now with improved gameplay mechanics and up to 7 levels presented as optional side quests.

Resistance Management – As the leader of the Borgovian Resistance, you will participate in the micromanagement of the allied troops, improve the equipment of the Resistance fighters or find loot that makes them more powerful.

Rage system – You can charge up to three skill modifiers called PowerUps on 8 active skills by way of spending Rage points collected from impressive feats.

Unique companion – Lady Katarina, a ghost with snappy wit, comes to the support of Van Helsing with her own set of abilities, behaviors, and two skill trees.

Runecrafting – Besides forging, enchanting and infusing items with essences, you’ll have another option to alter items to your liking. Artifacts can be taken apart, shattered into magical fragments to be turned into purely magical runes that can be altered and put on new items, changing them into various new powerful artifacts.

The Beast in the Lair - The Chimera is a unique creature, an artificial monster straight from the Ink. You can enhance its abilities and summon it into combat or send away to the Ink to hunt for treasure.

Hall of Trophies - You can decorate the Lair with trophies that give global modifiers to the game world, like empowering monsters, granting more spellpower to all allies or turning Katarina into a more lethal ghost.

Multiplayer – You and your friends can test your skills against each other via the PVP mode (8 players) or join forces and complete the story in the co-operative campaign (4 players).

My husband and I played through VH1 together, and bought 2 to play together also. Unfortunately it's unplayable and we had to give up after trying for a couple of hours. He created the game and I would join his, and my side of things was buggy right from the first scene with Prisoner Seven. Also, neither of us could import our characters, so we had to start over. Hurray!

Some of the bugs were odd but not a big deal: I would equip an item and I could hear his character say "I can't equip that." and his Katarina would respond to me equipping gear on mine or giving her items to hold.

I was constantly running into problems seeing enemies (at all), having them appear to still be alive and standing even when they were supposed to be dead, no ability animations, abilities not working at all, cut-scene conversations being repeated on my side which forced both of us to wait for me to be able to click through it all again before I could move, etc. So I would leave the game and come back, and things would work for a few minutes before breaking again. After doing that several times I started to crash instead of just bugging.... we gave up after the fourth time I crashed in 20 minutes.

Before he and I started this together, I played it alone for nearly 2 hours with no problems at all. It just seems to be multiplayer that's awful. So so disappointing.

Update: I have investigated the claim that the bugs have been fixed - it is possible that some are, but a quick check showed that the game is still unplayable as multiplayer co-op.

This game seemed promising, but has a number of bugs that make it unplayable. The only reason that there are positive reviews here is that the people writing them did not attempt multiplayer. These are some of the bugs were unable to fix over several hours of attempts:*Stats from gear are not being applied to damage*Mobs stand frozen after death and do not despawn*Enemies are invisible to one player*Projectile effects are invisible*Cannot attack or target enemies*Enemies ignore player*Enemies path or are knocked into unreachable locations*Game crashes during load screens*Load screens persist for several minutes*Quest objectives do not complete even when conditions are met

The first Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing wasn't a bad game, however it did have crippling technical issues that held it back. Those issues have since been fixed, and developer Neocore Games has learned a lot in the process, it seems. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II does what a sequel is known for and improves on the core idea of Van Helsing while adding enough content to justify a sequel.The story of Van Helsing II picks up right after the end of the first game. In case players completely forgot the plot or never played it, the opening cinematic does a superb job of catching everyone up. Essentially -- the city of Borgovia needs defending, and Van Helsing just so happens to be pretty great at exactly that. Simple enough.In addition, a mysterious character simply named "Prisoner Seven" is involved, helping out Van Helsing throughout his adventure. However, Seven's intentions are the definition of vague, leaving the player and Van Helsing to always question his motives. The plot isn't too far off the beaten path and gets pretty predictable, but it's decently written and very well voiced in order to keep the player's attention throughout. The first game's humor comes back in full force, however this time its done with much more tact. Players now have the ability to make Van Helsing one of three classes available, instead of being forced into a single role like in the original game. In addition to the classic Hunter, players can opt to make Van Helsing a Thaumaturge or an Arcane Mechanic. Each class plays very differently from the next, and there are loads of customization options within each class themselves, almost ensuring that two players will not play alike. Players may also import their characters from the first game if they wish.Katarina, the "ghost with a snappy wit" returns in the sequel and can also be customized a ton. She feels much more fully fleshed out than in the first game and she even filled the classic "tank" role pretty well during my playthrough. Her AI can be extremely customized, which allows her to not feel like dead weight the entire time. Plus, she can hold on to excess items, go back to town and sell them, and even go buy potions.The tower defense mini-game makes its return, which is a mode that I wasn't too fond of in the original due to lack of direction. I am happy to say, however, that Van Helsing II gives this mode the care and dedication it deserves, making it leagues better. The towers are more interesting, the maps feel better designed, and the package as a whole comes together nicely.Van Helsing is also in charge of resistance commanders now, and can send one of his commanders out to do his bidding for him. Managing these commanders is a mini-game in itself, as each one has certain tactics they are better at and sending the wrong one can mean a mission failure. The visual design of enemies in Van Helsing II is great, offering up some truly bizarre foes to take down throughout the campaign. Their behaviors are varied enough so that every enemy doesn't simply run straight towards the player, though many do. The visual style is alright, though things are overly shiny and can be a bit muddy as well.The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is a much better showing than the original. It's what a sequel should be; it improves on nearly everything while adding brand new ideas to the pile. Best of all, the core gameplay mechanics are still a blast to use and really spice up a genre that if often left untouched. It certainly has its shortcomings, but fans of games like the Diablo series, Torchlight, Titan Quest, or Path of Exile will love it.

The game while it is fun has alot of bugs they were known bugs as of May of 2014 I've checked the companys website and as of that date its been a known bug and they "Hope to fix it soon" if this is any indication of how there games are going after Van helsing One I'd steer clear of This game and Van Helsing 3. IE Runecrafting crashes you. Sad to see an indie company totally stop supporting a product 1 year after its release.